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"And we are moving on-board paperwork used by the flight crew to an electronic version. At some point in the future our in-flight magazines could be electronic."

British Airways spends more than £8 million a day on fuel and costs for this year are expected to top £3 billion.

On a typical flight, catering equipment and food can weigh around six tonnes.

Airlines have cut the numbers of paper cups and earplug sets, opted for smaller bottles of spirits and have even wiped the soot deposits from their engines to shave just a few grams from their weight.

Paul Charles, a spokesman for Virgin Atlantic said: "When you add it all up for every flight each year it does matter. Basically, you need less fuel to power flight if it is lighter. It works wonders."